A LEAVING Certificate student from Schull Community College (SCC) has been named as a finalist in Ireland’s largest music competition for secondary schools, the Frank Maher Classical Music Awards.

Talented trumpeter Ben Greenham Taylor, who hails from Skibbereen, is an accomplished young musician in the SCC school orchestra under the direction of his music teacher Sean Walsh, Ben has delighted audiences at school events for the past five years.

Ben is also principal cornet with the Clonakilty Brass Band, whose musical director, Ger Condon is also Ben’s brass teacher with the Cork School of Music. Ben has been part of the National Youth Orchestra for three years, and played with the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble for the two years. He has won a number of competitions including the Cork ETB School of Music Senior recital competition in 2023 and the Junior trumpet/cornet at Feis Ceoil in 2025, winning the entire Junior Brass category.

The Frank Maher Awards were founded in 2001 by Emmet O’Rafferty, chair of the Top Security Group, to honour the legacy of his former teacher, Fr Frank Maher, a pioneer in nurturing musical talent in Irish secondary schools. The awards offer a €5,000 top prize to a sixth-year student, the largest of its kind in the country, designed to further the winner’s music education and development.

The final takes place this Friday, 24th October at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin.